CUCURBITACE^— GOURD FAMILY 



WILD CUCUMBER. BALSAM-APPLE 



Echinocystis lobdta. Micrdmpelis lobdta 



Echinocystis, from two Greek words, one meaning hedge- 

 hog and the other bladder; referring to the inflated and 

 prickly fruit. 



A native annual vine found in rich, low grounds and 

 beside streams. 



Stem. — Smooth, angular and grooved, climbing high 

 by means of tendrils; sometimes hairy at the nodes. 



Leaves. — Alternate, petioled, palmately five-lobed; deep 

 sinus at the base, veins prominent beneath, margin 

 obscurely serrate; lobes pointed. Tendrils opposite the 

 leaves, three to four-branched. 



Flowers. — Monoecious; the staminate, greenish white, 

 six-pointed stars in long slender compound racemes; 

 the pistillate, one or more minute green flowers, consisting 

 of calyx and pistil, in the same leaf axil. 



Calyx. — Of staminate flower, bell-like, with six narrow, 

 pointed lobes alternate with the petals. 



Corolla. — Six lanceolate petals, united into an open, 

 spreading star. 



Stamens. — In staminate flowers, three; anthers more or 

 less united. 



Pistil. — Ovary minute, two-celled; stigma broad. 



Fruit. — Oval, two inches long, fleshy at first, finally 

 dry, covered with weak prickles, bursting at the summit, 

 two-celled, four-seeded, the inner part fibrous, netted. 



Seeds. — Large, dark, with thick hard coat. 



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